Doctor calls sale of legal high in Doncaster shop ‘insane’

A bottle of liquid gold odoriser, a substance which is legal but can be misused. The product was for sale at St George's Service Station, Doncaster, but has since been removed from the shelf. The bottle clearly has danger warnings on it.

Published:13:31Thursday 19 May 2016

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A GP has slammed a convenience store just yards from Doncaster College for selling a drug used as a legal high.

Dr Dean Eggitt, a GP at Oakwood Surgery in Cantley, called the decision to sell the air freshener containing ‘poppers’ at St George’s Service Station, Church Way, ‘morally irresponsible’.

However, the store manager claimed he did not know that the Liquid Gold substance – which dilates the blood vessels to give users a short, sharp head-rush high – could be misused.

and said it would be removed from his shelves immediately.

Mohammed Wasim, who has been the manger of the store for 22 years, said: “I did not know that this could be used as a legal high, I thought it was a car air fresher.

“If people are misusing it I have no problems with taking it off my shelf. I will ask a member of staff to go and take it off the shelf and destroy it.”

The Star was informed of the sale of the product by a concerned reader, who had spotted it for sale on the front counter next to a chewing gum stand.

Mr Wasim said he had put the product out for sale around six weeks ago, after finding it in a store cupboard. He said he bought it from a car accessories supplier based in Bradford two years ago.

“I am trying to run a respectable business,” he said.

“If the person who saw this had come and spoken to me I would have taken it off the shelf two days ago.”

Dr Eggitt said: “I think this is insane. Legal highs are effectively available to the public through a legal loophole, but it is known that these drugs can have severe effects on people. They can be lethal and they can kill you. “Sometimes, that is because of the drug itself and sometimes that can be because people have pre-existing medical conditions doctors didn’t know about.

“It concerns me that any petrol station, or shop or supermarket would sell a drug that is known to cause problems and potentially fatal outcomes.

“People have to understand that the way it makes you feel different is by having an effect on your body. It may make you feel good, but it may also cause you to feel light-headed and pass out. It can also cause sudden death. It’s not worth taking the gamble with your life by using it.

“Medicines have to go through lots of tests to make sure that they are safe before they are given to the public, but I’m not aware of any testing on these legal highs to make sure they are safe for human consumption.

“This is profiting on a gamble with people’s lives and it’s morally irresponsible. I can’t stress that enough.”

Mr Wasim insisted he had not sold any of the 10ml bottles of ‘Liquid Gold’ and was not trying to make money.

Dr. Rupert Suckling, Director of Public Health, said: “The product in question is not a Novel Psychoactive Substance, commonly known as a legal high, and is not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. However, they can affect the blood pressure if inhaled.

“As these substances have been proven to be non-psychoactive, they have been given special exemption from the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 and therefore we are unable to remove the products from sale. They are, however, potentially harmful if inhaled or swallowed.”

Anyone who is concerned about Novel Psychoactive Substances can contact the council at NPS.reporting@doncaster.gov.uk. Anyone experiencing problems with any type of drug or alcohol addiction can get more information about the support on offer in Doncaster by visiting www.aspire.community.